After market steel wheels for 60 T-bird

[byersmtrco]

I meant to say, 4 different brands, all the same size.
They will be all different. I was really surprised.
The Coopers I found were the widest I looked at.
They're no longer available.
BFG T/A's are still my favorite tires.

The 215's are closer to the stock width. They were pretty skinny as I recall. The 225's give the car a wider stance.
I like it. You can kind of tell in my picture. I have more pics in the puter at home. I can post em or email em if you want.
225/70's would be good. Better availability. Depends on the brand. You stand 4 diff tires up, 4 diff brands, and all 4 will be different sizes.

[jopizz]

I've compared 215/75/14 radials side by side with the original 800x14 belted tires and the radials are noticeably smaller as far as diameter goes. However all manufacturers are different so you really have to compare the specs. I've never had the 225/75/14's but they may be closer in size.

John

[byersmtrco]

Oh and, the GM part # for that wire wheel cover (was) 14039161. Discontinued now.

[DKheld]

Spider caps - got it.



Spiders have 8 legs though


The 215 75R14 Diamond Backs





Not a very good pic to tell about the tires but here are the Cokers



Eric

[G. Weber]

Thanks for the input Dave. You're showing 3.5" back space on your ruler. . John Pizzi spec. is 14 x 5.5" with 3.75" back space. My only options from Coker are 14 x 6" with a 4" back space which is the closest to John's spec. The other choice is 14 x 5" with a 3" back space. 1/4" from John's spec. seems acceptable. Any thoughts?

[60 T-Bird]

THIS is the back spacing you want:

These are 6" x 14" Granada wheels that Howard Prout and Ray Clark are using. There isn't much room between the tire and upper "A" arm. I would not go with 4". Summit sells a host of these wheels in different styles. If you cover with a full wheel cover, who knows what's behind it? - Dave

Any idea Dave, where Ray bought the wheels?

[simplyconnected]

Yes Martin, he got all they had from a Texas Pick-&-Pull. Then he had them powder coated. He sent a few to Howard Prout and kept the rest for his own Squarebird. That was years ago and both are still using them.

Bone yards around the country still have some. All you need is three if you have disk brakes; two for the front and one for a spare because the spare will fit any wheel.

I have to give Howard Prout credit, here. That's his wheel and his hand in the picture. He drove from St. Catharines (Niagara Falls), Ontario, to my house just north of Detroit, to see if they fit our Galaxie spindle because our cars share the same spindles. The sticker is from 'customs' to show he brought it from Canada and will return with it.

You can see the wheel is 'used' but freshly coated. Also notice the bulge on one side for caliper clearance. Ray Clark uses the center bumps for his dog dish hubcaps. Howard uses his original 'sunburst' full wheel covers. These wheels accommodate both. - Dave

[dgs]

The numbers in a modern tire size all have meaning so you can mathematically get the actual dimensions of the tire. There will be some variation depending on the width of the wheel they are mounted on, but you'll get close.

The first number is the overall width in millimeters.
The second number is the height of each sidewall as a percentage of the width. (Also called the "aspect ratio")
The last number is the wheel diameter in inches.

So, take a 215/75R14:

215mm or 8.45" wide
Each sidewall height is 75% of the width or (215 * 0.75) 161.25mm or 6.35"

So the overall tire height would be:

6.35 + 6.35 + 14 = 26.7"

As you can see, a wider tire with the same aspect ratio is also a taller tire. Also, the same width tire with a smaller aspect ratio is a shorter tire.

The old bias ply tires were very tall, the aspect ratio works out to be 80-85. Both the 215/75R14 and the 225/75R14 are wider but shorter than the original bias tires.

A 75 or even 70 aspect ratio is unheard of in modern cars. Most are 50-60 with even trucks running 65 aspect ratio tires.